Bushing.



A. J. GRAY.

BUSHING.

APILIUATION FILED 23.27. 1905.

1,088,221. Q Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

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ALMON J. GRAY, oF's'r. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

BUSHING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

I Application filed February 2'7, 1905. Serial No. 247,527.

1 b all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALMoN J.. GRAY, a citizen of the United States, residingat St. Paul, Ramsey county, State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bushings, of which the following is a specification. V

My invention relates to improvements in bushings used to line or case holes into or through wood, into or through'which bolts or journals are inserted, for the purpose of protecting the wood about the hole from wear and strains; and to provide a more suitable bearing than the wood itself furnishes.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a bushing which will remaln 1n place until it is removed or worn out; which will conform to the shape of the hole into which it is inserted, when the hole is enlarged or distorted by strains or otherwise, or is changed in size or shape by the successive swelling and shrinking of the wood into or through which the hole is bored or made, without loosening; a bushing which can be quickly, easily and securely inserted without checking or splitting the wood into which it is driven or pressed. I attain these objects by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank of sheet-metal from which a bushing is formed; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a bushing formed from this blank; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same at right angles to Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a top plan view of Figs. 2 and 3.

To better illustrate my invention I have shown a bushing made from sheet-metal, in the drawing. However, it may also be made by casting in finished form and in varying s1zes.

One of the novel ideas of my invention is a bushing having a free lateral end, and it will be readily seen that this feature is maintained in a bushing cast in finished form even though the flange is not located at the extreme of one of its lateral ends as it is, of necessity, in a bushing made of sheet-metal, such as is shown in the drawing.

The letters a and 7) indicate a blank such as is used when the bushing is made from sheet-metal. The body a; is rolled or bent into tubular shape to form the body a of the bushing, and b is bent in the opposite direction on the line 6 e to form the radial flange b. The flange b is-compared with flanges heretofore found on bushings designed for the purpose for which this bushing is used wide and thin, being but a single thickness of the material of which the bushing is made -when it is made of sheet metal, and correspondingly wide and thin when it is cast in finished form, and is, preferably, of uniform width; it is substantially shorter than the body of the bushing and its lower or entering end 0 is angled downward, forming an obtuse angle with the side line 6 e, and is drawn to an edge is, or beveled, to give it a knife or cutting edge. The split tube form of the bushing admits of its diameter being increased or diminished without expanding or contracting the metal of which the bushing is made.

To insert the bushing itslower end 2' is entered in the hole in the wood which the bushing is to line or case with the radial line of the flange Z; parallel, or nearly parallel, with the grain of the wood, it is then driven or pressed into place by force applied to its upper end cl. The downward angle of the entering end of the flange causes it to lead or draw away from the hole and into the timber drawing the bushing close against the wall of the hole on this side and insuring the embedment of the flange to its full width in the solid timber. The angle of the enter ing end of the flange serves also to make it more secure in the wood. The drawn or knifed edge 70, of the lower or entering end of the flange, parts the fiber of the wood as the flange is driven or pressed into it making it easier to insert the bushing and making it more firm and secure after it is inserted. The flange is substantially shorter than the body of the bushing as shown in the drawing. Its length is governed by such considerations as the material of which the bushing is made; the kind of timber into which it is to be inserted and the use to which it is to be subjected; and like considerations determine its width. The advantages which the shortened flange has over those which extend substantially the full length of the bushing are: It can be pressed or driven into harder wood without its buckling or crimping; it can be made wide enough to insure its holding the bushing securely in place and still be driven into any kind of wood without splitting or checking the timber; it is more firmly embedded in the wood and can work out in but one directiontoward the end from which it was inserted.

When inserted the bushing is securelyheld in place by the single flange 2). This flange is embedded in the wood which surrounds the bushing. A lateral end of the bushing (g in the drawing) is unattached and free to move transversely to increase or lessen the diameter of the bushing to allow it to conform to achange in the diameter of the hole into which it is inserted. The advantage of this free lateral end is; that it prevents the loosening of the bushing when, by strains or by successive swelling or shrinking of the timber the hole which the bushing lines is enlarged or distorted. The wood being softer and more impressionable than the materialof which metal bushings are made strains which cause the wood to give and 111 this manner enlarge the hole in the wood do not cause the metal in the bushing to expand consequently the bushings are loosened and are a detriment instead of an advantage. This is an objection to all bushings which are in the form of solid tubes. \Vhen the bushing is in the form of a split tube with both of "its lateral ends flanged and both of these flanges are embedded in the surrounding timber, every strain which causes the timber to yield draws and loosens the flanges, thus loosening the bushing, whereas, where the bushing has-a free lateral end instead of the flange loosening, or giving, the free lateral end gives, and the bushing is not loosened. WVhere a bushing has more than one flange the unlike or unequal changes ,in the wood and the metal between the flanges, caused by strains or successive swelling and shrinking of the timber, causes the flanges to become loosened and loosens the bushings. Another objection to bushings heretofore made from sheet-metal is the thickness of their flanges. They are twice the thickness of the metal of which the bushings are made and this makes it impracticable to have them wide enough so they will securely hold the bushing in place and admit of their being driven or pressed into the solid wood; and almost impossible to do so without checking or splitting the timber. Other objections to these bushings are the length and want of 'width of their flanges, they are narrow and extend substantially the full length of the bushing, and, while they may serve to keep the bushing from turning, they do not prevent their loosening; the bluntness and form of the entering ends of their flanges make it diflicult to insert them, and they are less secure when they are inserted, whereas the thin, shortened flange of my bushing with the knifed edge of its entering end admits of its being wide enough to hold the bushing securely in place and its being driven into the solid timber with an ordinary hammer without splitting or checking the timber.

lVhat I claim for my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A bushing comprising a split tube, an integral outwardly projecting flange extending lengthwise of the tube, the lower entering end of the flange inclining downward as it extends outward from the tube.

2. A bushing in the form of a split tube with a single radial fiange extending longitudinally thereof, the body of the bushing having a lateral end which will be unattached and free when the bushing is in place.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALMON J. GRAY.

\Vitnesses Krr'rrn GRAY, GEORGE A. Monony.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

